Source for shields?

[Randy3000]

I dont think anyone looks at one of your warbonnet swaybacks and thinks "if only it had a shield...." haha. I have a tendency to ramble so no judgment there! I have a crappy phone to take pictures with and dont take any pictures at all of 95% of what i make.

My interest in shields comes about mostly because i hate ruining a blade with a bad etch and prefer putting my mark on the more disposable shield, but sometimes a knife doesnt look right with a certain shield, or maybe any shield at all. And then some people hate shields. It is just one of those things i guess.

 

[javand]

I dont think anyone looks at one of your warbonnet swaybacks and thinks "if only it had a shield...." haha. I have a tendency to ramble so no judgment there! I have a crappy phone to take pictures with and dont take any pictures at all of 95% of what i make.

My interest in shields comes about mostly because i hate ruining a blade with a bad etch and prefer putting my mark on the more disposable shield, but sometimes a knife doesnt look right with a certain shield, or maybe any shield at all. And then some people hate shields. It is just one of those things i guess.

Yeah, I personally, wouldn't want to see a maker's mark on the shield Randy, just my preference. Traditionally this was used to engrave the owner's name, a motto, or organizational affiliation. This IMO is supplemental to the maker's mark, which *to me* belongs on the blade, tang or body. No rule saying you can't do it of course. I would personally find it a bit "tasteless" to have it on the presentation side of the handle though. Like a t-shirt sporting a large "designer" brand logo, as it's only practical embellishment. To me, it's much too commercial.

You should consider getting a stamp made instead. It requires some care in the process, since you typically have to mark before you HT, but nothing besides a laser or EDM can get you as fine a mark, with great contrast (it turns black during HT, and it's deep enough you can't fuck it up typically).

My smallest mark, is 0.5" wide and less than half that tall, I get crap clarity and only a few marks with a stencil where it's reasonably crisp, so I had a stamp made, and it looks exceptional. Unfortunately, it totally screws up my process, I like to be able to do the mark last, so I can have it perfectly aligned yet have plenty of room to tweak blade/handle intersection geometry until then. Just like how I prefer grinding my nail nicks with an SG, so that I can align it perfectly, even if I decide to adjust the clip area, or overall blade geometry. Stamped nail nicks look head and shoulders above any other method, but you don't have the latitude to adjust later if you already have your nail nick and mark fixed. Still, once you've got the patterns down, nothing looks better!

 

[Randy3000]

autogateman have you tried it on a knife yet? I am curious how difficult it is to get the template aligned properly on the scale. Also, i imagine using a template is hard for stag or jigged bone handles due to uneven surface. Curious what someone with this experience has to say.

I have been examining shields from hundreds of knives today. Shields are my current obsession. I was looking in a thread where collectors were posting custom knives.

I can tell a massive difference in quality, and the top makers really have the shields nailed down tight. I saw a lot of custom slip joints from makers i hadnt heard of with bad outlines around the shield. Heck i even saw one shield shifted way off to one side and visibly rotated. Perhaps the saddest thing i saw in my research though was a horrendous dremel cut off wheel nail nick *shudder*

I will keep trying on drop off bone pieces, but i am not personally able to inlay a shield in bone consistently. Unless the template makes it a no brainer.

 

[Busto]

autogateman have you tried it on a knife yet? I am curious how difficult it is to get the template aligned properly on the scale. Also, i imagine using a template is hard for stag or jigged bone handles due to uneven surface. Curious what someone with this experience has to say.

I have been examining shields from hundreds of knives today. Shields are my current obsession. I was looking in a thread where collectors were posting custom knives.

I can tell a massive difference in quality, and the top makers really have the shields nailed down tight. I saw a lot of custom slip joints from makers i hadnt heard of with bad outlines around the shield. Heck i even saw one shield shifted way off to one side and visibly rotated. Perhaps the saddest thing i saw in my research though was a horrendous dremel cut off wheel nail nick *shudder*

I will keep trying on drop off bone pieces, but i am not personally able to inlay a shield in bone consistently. Unless the template makes it a no brainer.

Google "Shield Inlay Tutorial" KR Johnson has that posted in knifedogs forum lots of photos.

 

[javand]

autogateman have you tried it on a knife yet? I am curious how difficult it is to get the template aligned properly on the scale. Also, i imagine using a template is hard for stag or jigged bone handles due to uneven surface. Curious what someone with this experience has to say.

I have been examining shields from hundreds of knives today. Shields are my current obsession. I was looking in a thread where collectors were posting custom knives.

I can tell a massive difference in quality, and the top makers really have the shields nailed down tight. I saw a lot of custom slip joints from makers i hadnt heard of with bad outlines around the shield. Heck i even saw one shield shifted way off to one side and visibly rotated. Perhaps the saddest thing i saw in my research though was a horrendous dremel cut off wheel nail nick *shudder*

I will keep trying on drop off bone pieces, but i am not personally able to inlay a shield in bone consistently. Unless the template makes it a no brainer.

I just align by eye to what "looks right", as I do with many things. Usually I'll get it where I think it looks right, sharpie it, pull the template off to check it, if it's good, then I'll secure the template somehow. I like to scribe a good single sharp outline, regardless of how I'm relieving, since more complicated sharp cornered shields require some careful hand fitting at the end to get "perfect".

You're correct, things like stag, and ivory are tougher, nature of the materials, and why it takes talent to get great results from. I cut my shields typically after I've done all the handle shaping, regardless of the material though.

A template doesn't make it a "no-brainer" Randy, it just changes the variables. With practice it can speed things up, but if you get careless, can screw things up quicker. The more complicated the shield however, the more likely it is to cause problems, and in many cases you're better off just doing it the slow way. The absolute most perfect shield inlays I've ever seen, have always been completely hand relieved also. However, with practice, you can get great results either way.

 

[Randy3000]

I will give templates a try. The main single blade i make is a small lambsfoot pattern and i like it either with long bolsters or square bolsters with a long skinny shield. I have broke a few 1/16" bits trying to cut out the skinny inlay, and now mostly do it by hand. Typically, the outlines are clean when using wood but sometimes i guess a tiny piece of wood splinters off and messes it up no matter how careful i am. Some days, i swear off shields altogether, but it is one of those things i guess.

Edit
I havent started selling knives yet, except a couple here and there to friends. If i can get the shield thing nailed down, i will do a batch of variations of my lambsfoot in aeb-l with quality handle materials and try to recoup some money.

 

[javand]

What 1/16 bits are you using to cut it?

I've never broken one of those little 1/16 dremel milling cutters a lot of us use, but you gotta spin it fast and let the tool do the work. Also, the advantage of contouring your handles first, and then pocketing the shield is, you don't have to mill it super deep.

That's a really simple shield pattern for sure, should be no prob.

When I say "by hand" though, I don't mean, cutting it out without a template on a drill with a cutter. I mean, literally, chiseling it out by hand. It's not really that hard, but you could easily do that shield in about 2 minutes with a template and a drill. Although you probably have to go back and cut the tight top corners in by hand a little.

 

[Britt_Askew]

I have only made 2 slipjoints and will have a mill before I try the next one but when I do I am thinking about making something like this

You can make your shield and use friendly plastic to make the "pattern" to cut the inlay and the next knife just heat the friendly plastic up and use it again to fit it to your next shield.

 

[javand]

I have only made 2 slipjoints and will have a mill before I try the next one but when I do I am thinking about making something like this

You can make your shield and use friendly plastic to make the "pattern" to cut the inlay and the next knife just heat the friendly plastic up and use it again to fit it to your next shield.

Fun pantrograph build, although I highly recommend you learn to do it manually before looking for shortcuts. It's not that difficult. Plenty of makers use industrially made pantrographs also, and they're great for all sorts of things, but for one-off builds, there are advantages to doing it the traditional way.

 

[autogateman]

autogateman have you tried it on a knife yet? I am curious how difficult it is to get the template aligned properly on the scale. Also, i imagine using a template is hard for stag or jigged bone handles due to uneven surface. Curious what someone with this experience has to say.

I have been examining shields from hundreds of knives today. Shields are my current obsession. I was looking in a thread where collectors were posting custom knives.

I can tell a massive difference in quality, and the top makers really have the shields nailed down tight. I saw a lot of custom slip joints from makers i hadnt heard of with bad outlines around the shield. Heck i even saw one shield shifted way off to one side and visibly rotated. Perhaps the saddest thing i saw in my research though was a horrendous dremel cut off wheel nail nick *shudder*

I will keep trying on drop off bone pieces, but i am not personally able to inlay a shield in bone consistently. Unless the template makes it a no brainer.

Yes and it works great!

 

[autogateman]

I used the template to cut the main parts as good as I could, then removed the template. When you tap down on the shield it makes a mark and shows where you need to remove more material.